2016 Carolena & Megha – Devon Retreat

Jacqui and I were so very excited to welcome Carolena Nericcio, creator of our wonderful dance, together with her dance partner Megha Gavin, to Devon. Not least because they agreed to teach a class for our students from Tiverton, Exeter and Launceston. It was an amazing experience for everyone to have first hand tuition – almost as good as visiting the mothership in San Francisco.

We were then joined by eighteen ATS teachers from the UK, US and Europe for a fabulous 4 day weekend of fun, friendship, fire pit, laughter, music and loads of dance. Everyone soon made themselves at home:

Family meals in the infamous barn

Dining and dancing at the Toucan, great food and the suspense of not knowing who would dance with who. It’s a bit of a Toucan tradition to put everyone’s name in a hat, pull them out in duets, trios, or quartets and then choose the music. True improv on the spot.

A Devon Retreat wouldn’t be the same without the fire pit. We had great fun cooking, drumming, zilling and singing and even created an ATS version of the Twelve Days of Christmas in the middle of Summer but ours lasted for 17 days! “On the first day of TfT my teacher said to me, – keep your elbows lifted – “

But it wasn’t all relaxation and recreation we had fun and games with lots of hard work in the workshops too. We each had to lead drills under the watchful eyes of Carolena & Megha and then received personal feedback on our individual technique. A really valuable course which I hope we’ll do again sometime

ATS® has grown into a global phenomenon with an impressive expansion of the number of certified ATS® teachers. The Technique for Teachers Certification Course is a NEW opportunity to ensure that we are all sharing the same high-quality instruction at our Sister Studio locations. In this course for ATS® Teacher Training graduates, Carolena and Megha will assess each teacher’s technique, provide feedback and offer corrections to ensure that all of our students,worldwide, are receiving consistent instruction.

Each day will consist of a detailed breakdown of two core moves from the ATS® vocabulary followed by chorus drills. Each participant will have an opportunity to lead a two-song drill and receive feedback on their movement technique. We’ll have plenty of time for questions and answers, and bonus drills as well.

Steps to be broken down and drilled include:

Day 1 – Shimmy Family, Taxeem

Day 2 – Egyptian Family and Spins, Turns

Day 3 – Arabic Family, Body Waves

Day 4 – Pivot Bump Family, Circle Step and Torso Twist

and to round off a wonderful retreat those who were left standing gathered together in the infamous barn for one last very emotional Gratitude Meditation